Top-seeded Jeannette wears down pesky Brentwood to reach 2A quarterfinals

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Monday, February 16, 2026 | 10:30 PM

Eight days off can cause even the best basketball teams to get a little stale.

Teams can scrimmage during the playoffs, but that hardly matches the intensity of the WPIAL tournament.

Top-seeded Jeannette had to knock off some early rust in its playoff opener, but the defending champions are moving on.

Defensive pressure and transition produced balanced scoring as Jeannette finally gained separation after halftime and pushed past No. 16 seed Brentwood, 70-49, in the first round of the Class 2A boys basketball playoffs Monday night at Jeannette’s Lou Seiler Court.

“We were off, and Brentwood played a (preliminary round) game,” Jeannette coach Adrian Batts said. “Even though we had two scrimmages (against Gateway and Franklin Regional), we hadn’t played a game. Mentally, we had to have a good start. The ball didn’t want to go through the hoop early.”

The Jayhawks (20-1), who have won 18 games in a row, advance to Thursday’s quarterfinals to face No. 9 Eden Christian (15-6) at a time and site to be determined. Eden Christian is coached by former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Aaron Smith.

Brentwood (13-11), pesky for much of the night, has lost to Jeannette two years in a row in the first round. Last year’s score was 91-42, the first step in Jeannette’s title run.

The Jayhawks hope this is the first toward a repeat.

“We know what we can do,” Jeannette junior guard Markus McGowan said. “We have had slow starts … We know when to turn it up. We know we have to play better if we want to defend our title.”

McGowan turned it up in the second half, scoring 13 of his 19 points. He was one of four Jayhawks in double figures.

Junior Jayce Powell had a team-high 21, senior Kymon’e Brown added 12 and senior Xavier Odorisio-Farrow had 11.

Powell and McGowan each made two 3-pointers.

“Everyone was sharing the ball,” McGowan said. “All night we were making the one-more pass. We helped on defense and played as a team.”

Powell, who had 13 in the first half, sparked the offense early, attacking the rim fearlessly against Brentwood 6-foot-9 senior Deng Mu, who was limited offensively with eight points but had six blocks.

With his length and flashes of athleticism, Mu, who grew up in South Sudan, had 23 points in a 58-41 win over Beth-Center in the play-in round.

“We tried to defend (Mu) like any big kid,” Batts said. “He didn’t deter us from getting to the rim. Jayce got us going early.”

Junior Xh’avier Nunez kept the Spartans in the game, scoring 17 of his game-high 26 in the second half. He had 11 in the fourth, preventing Jeannette from getting to the 30-point mercy rule.

“Give Brentwood a lot of credit,” Batts said. “They played hard. I was really happy with our guys’ effort tonight.”

Jeannette had 15-7 edge after the first quarter and led 35-21 at the half.

In the second quarter, Brentwood cut the lead to six twice, at 15-9 and 26-20, the latter on a 3 from Nunez.

Brown hit a 3, McGowan made a layup and junior Noah Clary finished off a feed from Odorisio-Farrow to close the half with a 9-1 run.

Powell made a 3 out of the break and Brown tipped in a miss as Jeannette slowly began to peel away.

Brown’s fast-break layup made it 50-25, but the Spartans went on a 7-0 surge – Nunez had four straight points and Mu hit a 3 from the wing – to make it 50-32.

More transition, including a layup by Odorisio-Farrow, gave Jeannette a 54-32 lead after three.

“We have to defend, rebound and take care of the basketball if we’re going to make another run,” Batts said. “It’s about survive and advance at this point. Everyone is 0-0. That section title doesn’t mean anything now.”

Jeannette’s largest lead reached 27 (62-35) after McGowan’s 3, Brown’s putback and Powell’s driving layup early in the fourth.

Brentwood, though, which outscored Jeannette 17-16 in the fourth, trimmed it to 18 after five straight points from Nunez.

Brentwood scored nine of the final 12 points.

“It’s extremely important to get the first (playoff win),” Batts said. “The road gets tougher from here.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Brentwood, Jeannette